It is that day where everyone is out buying the latest trending gadgets, clothes, and other Christmas gifts for their loved ones. However, I have opted to stay at home this Black Friday and enjoy some of the online deals that are already hitting the marketplace today before Cyber Monday even arrives. Since Black Friday hit early, I suppose some other big brands are also jumping in early to offer great deals online on some of the apps in iTunes. Namely, the one I am really raving about is the Polaris Office app for iPad or the iPhone.

As someone who often travels and/or does speaking engagements, I don’t always have access to Microsoft Office from my laptop. Instead, I often have out my iPhone or iPad reviewing some of the notes I have made. The unfortunate part is that there are times I would like to edit my notes or make changes to some of the things I am writing on. The downside of using the iPad or iPhone has always been the inability to make those necessary changes. In fact, what you typically get is a picture-like image of a document. You can read it, but it’s often small print and never editable. With Polaris Office, they have made the impossible possible! Continue reading…

Splashtop has consistently been one of the most popular remote access and desktop control apps for iOS, and iPhone and iPod Touch users will benefit even more now with the release of Splashtop 2. Version 2.0 was first made available for the iPad ($6.99) several months ago, now with improvements in speed, reliability, security and support for Retina Display hitting the iPhone. So why would you want to use such an app? Well for starters, remote access apps like Splashtop allow you to control your desktop/laptop right from the comforts of your iDevices. So even if you’re away from your computer, you can still work on that Word document, or even watch videos that are located on your hard drive.

Dar-Soft, developers of several well received printing and PDF apps for iOS has dropped the price of PDF PROvider to FREE. Previously at $6.99, this robust business app lets you convert, view, merge and manage all your PDF files in one place. So whether you’ve found a webpage or have a file in your Dropbox/email that you want converted into a one glorious PDF file, PDF PROvider will do the trick. A recent 2.0 update also added the ability to convert maps (all done from within the app), PDF annotation tools, batch conversions and more. This price drop is only good for today, so if you’ve been looking for a capable PDF manager AND converter for your iPad, be sure to grab it now.

There are two kinds of people: one who cares about productivity apps, the other not so much. If you are among the latter, you may consider skipping this review. But if you – like me – enjoy checking out the latest attempts in raising ones productivity levels, then you may already have heard about Parker Planner. Ethan Parker and his team left the paper planner business in order to concentrate on creating the perfect day planning app. Let’s see how far along they are!

Scanner Pro, one of the most popular portable document scanner and business apps for the iPhone, is now compatible with the iPad (2nd and 3rd gen) thanks to the 4.0 update today. Redesigned from the ground up, users can finally take snap shots of their receipts, documents and notes and turn them into PDFs on their iPads. Scans can also be uploaded to Dropbox, Evernote (add tags and choose notebooks) and GoogleDocs for added convenience. Also new are the revamped processing engine (image processing is even faster now), folder management and ability to search by name and date. The Scanner Pro 4 update is now available and free for those who’ve already purchased the app, or $6.99 for new users.

Whether you are an employee or business owner, having fast access to portable and reliable tools is a necessity when it comes to overall productivity. Utilizing iPhone and iPad business applications is an excellent way to manage and control your work and take advantage of the latest in wireless broadband technology. Because of the overabundance of iDevice apps available, choosing the right ones to have on hand can be a confusing process. Before getting lost in the world of business apps, try these 10 apps that every businessperson should have readily available in order to get the most out of their work.

For those of us in the business world, few things will raise eyebrows in wonder and envy more than plugging an iPad into an overhead projector during a meeting to show a PowerPoint presentation or render other media displayed on the screen. “Oh, anyone can do that on a laptop,” some will say. But it’s just not as cool, trust me.

Several presentation apps are available on the App Store but 2Screens – Presentation Expert stands out in that it displays a broad range of file types concurrently and has a companion iPhone app called 2Screens Remote than can be used to control presentation slideshows.

Tap Forms Database, an app that lets you store basically any type of personal info, is now free for a day. Similar to eWallet – Secure Password Manager (TMA Review), Tap Forms is even more versatile and allows you to create audio notes and sync with Dropbox, among many other things. We reviewed the app quite a while ago and it has since been improved with a slew of new enhancements and features.

This app is the one you need for storing all of your information, even the type that you don’t normally consider sensitive. Track inventory, list your movies or have your recipes handy, no matter where you are. Tap Forms Database is just so versatile and perfect for everyone.

You can email, take photos, adjust fonts, record and attach audio files, search or even upload and download Word and Excel files or PDF’s. Import and export all you want.

As far as storing sensitive information on your iDevice, rest easy. Tap Forms Database is completely secure. It has a strong, government approved AES-256 bit encryption, a pass code PIN and an optional auto lock/lockout function.

Previously at $6.99, anyone who wishes to keep their sensitive data from prying eyes should not miss out on this great freebie.

As a Customer Facing Project Manager I get to meet a lot of people. Whether this is a new client, someone I meet at a conference, or even an occasional acquaintance on a flight, every single person I meet can play a very significant part in my future career. After all, a business man’s strength is often defined by the extent of his network. And of course to this day the widely accepted way to exchange contact information is still the good old business card exchange. Then when all’s said and done, you’ll still have to spend precious time manually entering the information into your contact organizer of choice. But what if you could just snap a picture of the card and have it magically appear in your contacts? Now you can with WorldCard Mobile – business card reader & business card scanner.

Splashtop Remote Desktop(TMA Review), a very capable remote access app that allows your iPad to connect to your PC, now has a Free version that will support connections of up to 5 minutes at a time. For those not familiar with Splashtop, the app gives users the ability to control their computer right from the iPad. Unlike many of the competition, it even supports video and audio playback, meaning you can also play flash or windows games remotely. So long as you’re connected with relatively strong wifi signal, Splashtop works surprisingly well.

If you do decide to check out the Free version and like it, Splashtop Remote Desktop is now on sale for $0.99. At this price, you’d be hard pressed to find a similar app that will offer as much in return.